Colours of India

It's ironical that in a country where everybody brags about being a photographer — with a phone camera or a camcorder in hand — some diplomatic missions find it difficult to find high quality images that show the new India. "Either the pictures are low in resolution or they do not represent India the way it should be," says Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan, a filmmaker who, in order to look for a solution, has organised an online international photography competition titled "India Impressions".

Gopalakrishnan, who is associated with The Takshashila Institution — an independent think tank dealing with India's strategic affairs — has collaborated with the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The contest, which is being held on Flickr, the popular photo sharing platform, has invited entries under four broad themes. One of these is "India Engages", which will depict the country's relations with the world. While "India Empowers" will capture economic and social empowerment at home and abroad, "India Enlightens" will showcase the knowledgeable and spiritual side of the country. The fourth category, "India Entertains", will be all about culture, sports and other forms of entertainment.

"We often get messages from our diplomatic missions around the world. These point to the difficulty in accessing high-quality images that show the new India. I am confident that "India Impressions" will plug this gap by generating photographs that capture our country's transformation," said Navdeep Suri, MEA's Joint Secretary, who wants to organise a useful bank by selecting two entries from each category. Apart from being published in magazines and journals of the Takshashila Institution and the Ministry of External Affairs, the best photographs will be featured in a photo exhibition in New Delhi, and will be put up at Takshashila's roundtables and Shala events.

To participate, register on takshashila.org.in. The last day for submitting the entries is February 15.

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